


like the words written in the sand

by HarmfulCoconut (bad_drive)



Category: EXO (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Idols, Angst, Bittersweet Ending, F/F, F/M, not a fluffy story, you're in for a long time of hurt tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23768494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_drive/pseuds/HarmfulCoconut
Summary: BREAKING NEWSRed Velvet's Irene and EXO's Suho revealed to have been dating for six months. After much speculation of the rumors, SM Entertainment publicly confirmed the dating reports.-----Joohyun recalled some time ago when she was still a trainee that Super Junior's Kim Heechul jokingly said, "Our CEO said to date within the company. We'll be less likely to get caught that way."It was somewhat true. Label mates were always in the company building and it would not be suspicious to see them walking in and out through the glass doors, as opposed to someone from SM walking into JYP's building with no reason whatsoever. Many couples rose among the groups in the company--some made it to the public, some didn't.Joohyun didn't think that her relationship would be known to the world.Especially when it wasn't exactly what people thought it was.
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi, Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kim Junmyeon | Suho
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

To Bae Joohyun, Kim Junmyeon was a close, same-age friend.

He was dorky and childish, yet he could be mature.

He was a confidant, someone who Joohyun could call or text outside of her own members.

But to the world, he was Suho, a member of top boy group EXO.

He was a leader of eight other men.

And above all, he was Red Velvet’s Irene’s boyfriend.

With all the profits SM Entertainment had racked in from their groups, they managed to upgrade many of their facilities with their dance practice rooms being one of them. No longer were there curtains of clouds resting against the walls or a dimly lit theatre stage to conduct dance practices. Bright lights were automatically turned on by clapping, one side of the wall had an extensive length of mirrors, and there was a resting area concealed from the hallway.

Joohyun and Junmyeon occupied one of the dance practice rooms. There were no other groups preparing for a comeback other than their junior group, NCT, so a lot of the rooms were vacant for the time being. It was close to one in the morning by now, and usually one would be resting in the comforts of their room but being up this late was no unusual occurrence. It unfortunately became too common for them, almost as if it was their norm.

Joohyun had been holding one of Junmyeon’s hands and she was playing around with his fingers. Junmyeon, on the other hand, was scrolling through feeds on his phone using his free hand, not minding whatever his girlfriend was doing.

“When should we tell our members?” Joohyun asked.

Junmyeon shut off his phone and set it aside, turning to gaze into Joohyun’s beautiful doe eyes. “My manager told me we’re expected to go public soon. Dispatch got a few pictures of us already.”

Joohyun breathed out of her nose as some sort of almost laughter. As expected of Dispatch, always on the streets armed with their cameras, looking for anyone who had a face mask, sunglasses, or a cap because that usually meant it was an idol trying to hide.

“Of course,” she remarked, but more to herself than anything.

Junmyeon tugged onto their hands, grimacing. He stroked the back of Joohyun’s soft hand with his thumb as a way of comforting.

“We should probably tell them tonight,” he said. “The sooner, the better. I don’t think they would like it to hear from a news source that’s known to ruin our friends’ lives.”

Joohyun sighed. “Yeah, we should.” She patted around on the couch for her phone. “I’ll see if they’re awake still.”

It was silent again. However, they didn’t mind it. They allowed the deafening silence to hang over their heads, quietly typing on their phones to message their own personal group chats with their members.

Junmyeon slightly cleared his throat. He usually did that before speaking, probably as a means to let people around him know that he was going to talk soon or just to see if his voice would come out clearly.

“Whatever happens after,” he started. He averted his gaze from his phone to Joohyun, who was tapping quickly to reply to the influx of messages coming from her members. “Whatever happens after…we’ll go through it together.”

Joohyun shot him a quick glance. “I’d hope so. You’re my boyfriend, after all.”

Junmyeon had to let out a laugh. “Of course.”

**

Joohyun didn’t exactly prepare a speech beforehand when Junmyeon carefully dropped her off by her dorm. She sneakily walked inside the lobby and was able to ride up peacefully. It was the sight of her dorm’s door and the keypad did it hit her that she asked for her members to stay up for her, yet she didn’t quite know how to dish the news out.

_“Hey, kids. I’m dating Junmyeon-ssi.”_

Or maybe, _“Everyone, I have some important news… I’ve been dating Junmyeon-ssi for a while now.”_

Or maybe, _“Everyone, don’t freak out, but… I’m seeing someone.”_

Which was less likely to burst her ear drums by Seungwan and Sooyoung combined? Actually, Yerim and Seulgi could get pretty loud if they wanted to as well. She wanted to leave their outbursts to her imagination because for Heaven’s sake she wasn’t ready to be bombarded with questions just yet.

After a long while making sure she was mentally prepared, she gently tapped in the code and walked in after hearing three beeps. Their keypad made apparent beeps from the inside, so whoever was still residing in the dorm could hear who was trying to come in with either a pleasant sound with three beeps or an error sound with one, long beep at the end.

“Unnie, you’re back!” Seungwan was the first to greet her, having waited for the leader on the couch.

Sooyoung and Yerim emerged from their rooms after hearing the beeps and Seulgi just stepped out of the bathroom, drying her wet hair with a towel.

“What did you want to talk about, unnie?” asked Sooyoung.

“It’s been so long since we had our five-minute candle talks,” Yerim pointed out. “Are we doing that tonight?”

“I just have an announcement to make,” Joohyun tiredly said. She made her way to the living room and sat down on the one seat recliner, resigning the others to sit on the couch with Seungwan or on the floor around the coffee table. “No time for our candle talks, sorry, Yerimmie.”

While on the floor, Seulgi was still drying her hair, albeit half-heartedly. She mumbled, “What’s your announcement, unnie?”

She felt the four pairs of eyes staring at her intently, waiting for anything to come out of her mouth. Joohyun wasn’t sure if they had an inkling about what she wanted to talk about. She wasn’t known to express interest in any guys even though she was often paired up with a lot of them. It wasn’t news to her—every idol always get paired up with someone of the opposite gender if they starred in something together or even if a fan thought that they simply looked good together as a couple.

Exhibit A—Park Bogum.

Exhibit B—Kim Taehyung.

Exhibit C—Song Minho.

Exhibit D—Kim Junmyeon.

Of those four choices, one of them was correct. The other three were seen as a brotherly figure, an acquaintance, or a good friend.

But she was here to disclose information about one of those four. So, as she was preparing herself, trying to calm down her rapidly beating heart, fidgeting around with her fingers, she had her gaze trained on the floor the entire time.

And she said, “I’m d-dating someone.”

Nothing what she had imagined occurred. No gasps, no outbursts, no screams.

Just pure silence.

Until Seungwan shifted on the couch and made a noise with the leather.

Joohyun wearily lifted her gaze, attempting to read the facial expressions of each of her members.

Seungwan seemed a little bit shocked, what with her raised eyebrows and mouth agape. She turned her head to look at the others, probably to see what they were wondering as well.

Yerim had a hand on her mouth with her eyes wide and directed at the floor, away from Joohyun’s stare. She usually did this when something ridiculous occurred or she had no words to express what she was feeling.

Sooyoung’s mouth was prominently shaped into an ‘o.’ She was the most expressive right now, and it looked as if she was trying to fight a smile from appearing. The uncomfortable atmosphere and the situation didn’t really call for a grin.

And lastly, Seulgi. Joohyun couldn’t quite decipher what Seulgi was feeling. Her expression was blank and her hands were still on the towel that was loosely wrapped around the ends of her wet hair. After a while, she gradually went back to drying her hair and tore her gaze away to look at Sooyoung next to her.

“Who…” Seungwan started, still staring at the other three members. It was as if they had an unspoken rule committed within each other, eyes saying more than what their mouths could. After she received a wordless confirmation, which was really no reaction, she turned back to Joohyun and asked, “Who is it?”

“Junmyeon-ssi…”

Yerim’s eyebrows perked up. “Junmyeon-oppa? Like… _Suho_ -oppa?”

Joohyun meekly nodded. She couldn’t seem to find the words, feeling it sticking in her throat.

“Wah, amazing,” Sooyoung exclaimed, and she smiled. “Of course, our Joohyun-unnie being the first one out of us to get in a dating scandal.”

Joohyun felt one corner of her mouth tug up a little bit. She could always count on Sooyoung to make an intense situation lighter.

“There’s no scandal yet,” she clarified.

“Yet!” Seungwan repeated. “Are you and Junmyeon-oppa going to get caught?”

Joohyun shrugged. “It may or may not happen. Regardless, I wanted to let you all know… I felt that it’s important to.”

Yerim nodded repeatedly. “If I was going to hear about unnie dating oppa through Dispatch or something like that, I would chokeslam you.”

“Yah, remember I’m still older than you,” Joohyun threatened with a fist in the air.

Yerim only giggled and shied away from Joohyun’s harmless wrath.

“How long have you been dating oppa?” Seungwan asked.

“It’s…it’s been about six months now.”

Sooyoung’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. “Six months!? That long? How come we didn’t notice anything?”

“Wow… Look at this actress in the making,” Yerim teased. “She was sly enough to get out from under our noses to see oppa behind our backs. You weren’t really shooting those CFs, were you?”

Joohyun felt herself heat from the neck up. “N-No! I was shooting commercials! Geez, I don’t always sneak out…”

As Seungwan, Sooyoung, and Yerim kept throwing question after question at Joohyun, wondering about all the details behind her relationship with Junmyeon, the soft-spoken leader noticed Seulgi being very quiet. Which was scarily unusual.

She didn’t see those adorable crescent smiles or the pearly whites. It was still a blank expression Seulgi, _so_ different from how she presented herself in front of the cameras. Seulgi was usually the same on and off camera, but behind the scenes, she was a bit more toned down and a lot more mature than what people depict her as.

Though, even with all of that said, Seulgi’s silence had a heavy weight over the other members’ chattering.

“I’m going to go sleep,” Seulgi softly announced, effectively ceasing all talking with the way she stood up from the floor. “Congratulations, unnie.”

Joohyun watched as Seulgi turned away, lightly pattering her way down to her room. Seungwan, Sooyoung, and Yerim weren’t strangers to Seulgi’s odd behavior. Seungwan stood up to follow her good friend whereas Sooyoung and Yerim stayed put, turning back to look at Joohyun.

The leader found it hard to tear her gaze away from the hallway, the fresh memory of Seulgi walking away from them replaying in her mind so many times to the point where she thought it was going to be ingrained in her head.

She didn’t understand why her reaction stirred up something unpleasant within her. Seulgi’s words weren’t said with charm or glee or sincerity. It felt so bitter, like her words had wielded a dagger and stabbed at Joohyun’s heart, effectively making her feel the weight of it.

Joohyun heaved a sigh and closed her tired eyes.

She didn’t expect this kind of reaction.

Which was a bit ironic coming from her, considering how she knew the tension lingering between the both of them.

She hoped once she crawled into her bed, curling into a fetus position to warm her effortlessly cold body, that this was all a dream.

That Son Seungwan, Park Sooyoung, and Kim Yerim weren’t as accepting of her announcement.

That she wasn’t really dating Kim Junmyeon.

That Kang Seulgi wasn’t really angry (at least she assumed that was her reaction) at her.

But she knew that once she woke up, this was the reality she was going to face. She was an idol, and an idol had to deal with not only the pressure and expectations from the public, but also from within their own company and members as well.

Red Velvet’s Irene was EXO’s Suho’s girlfriend.

That was all people were going to see her as for a time period after the announcement.

That was all her members were going to see her as for an even shorter time period.

And it was all Joohyun was going to think about even after their break up, if that would ever happen.

Joohyun already knew she was going to feel sorry to her members. The weight of being in a dating “scandal,” as one would call it, while they were still at the top of the pyramid of boy and girl groups combined, was going to place a burden on her members’ shoulders. She was going to lose popularity and she was going to tarnish Red Velvet’s name for a bit from both her fans and Junmyeon’s fans.

But she knew that this was needed.

Because Junmyeon was so much more than just a boyfriend to her.

He was a confidant.

And confidants were people to talk to aside from the others existing.

Joohyun could tell everything to Junmyeon that she wasn’t able to tell Seulgi.

To Bae Joohyun, Kang Seulgi was her beautiful, best friend.

She was off the wall sometimes, yet she often said some of the wisest things Joohyun had ever heard.

She was also a confidant, much more so than the other members.

But to the world, she was charismatic Kang Seulgi, member of top girl group, Red Velvet.

She was the flawless main dancer, effectively catching the hearts of those who watched her.

And above all, she was only Red Velvet’s Irene’s bandmate.


	2. Chapter 2

Even with chilly nights and lonely rooms, Joohyun was able to sleep as peacefully as she could. However, ever since she announced her relationship with Junmyeon to her members, it was difficult to close her tired eyes and fall into a slumber. Her body was fatigued and her eyes were heavy, but her brain kept working endlessly, making her remember every single tiny detail about all her members’ reactions, especially Seulgi’s.

It wasn’t an ordinary reaction, that much she could say about Seulgi’s.

There was something underlying there, but Joohyun couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

Usually at this time where she couldn’t sleep even after counting so many sheep in her head, she would tiptoe into Seulgi’s room and crawl into the space on the bed next to her. Seulgi’s snores were oddly comforting even in the dead of night. The deafening silence was sometimes too much for Joohyun.

But Joohyun couldn’t find the heart to go to Seulgi this time.

So, she was left lying there in her silent bedroom, covers up to her nose, eyes staring up at her plain ceiling.

After what seemed like hours of just blank stares when in reality it was only a few minutes, Joohyun huffed to herself and decided to text Junmyeon. She forgot to fill him in on what her members felt about them dating.

_3:23 A.M._

_Are you still awake?_

_Yeah. How did it go?_

_It went okay…I think. No outbursts like I thought there would be._

_Well, that’s good! At least we know that they’re okay with us, right?_

_Yeah… How about you? Were you able to tell the guys?_

_Not all of them were awake, so I only told Jongin, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo._

_How did they take it?_

_Chan and Baek were yelling like crazy! Haha, they were happy for me. Jongin and Kyungsoo weren’t as expressive, but that’s just how they are. They are okay with us._

_That’s good to hear._

_What are you still doing up? I thought you would’ve been sleeping by now._

_I thought so too, but it’s hard to sleep right now._

_Aw, why not?_

_I’m not sure. I think I’m still a bit anxious over this whole thing._

_Like I said, we’ll go through this together. Before you know it, it’s going to blow over._

_I wished it would just blow over already…_

_Sorry, Hyun. We’ll see each other later on when we wake up, okay? We can talk more about this later with clearer minds._

_Okay, sounds good._

_Good night, Hyunnie~_

_Night, Myeonnie._

Even after finding small comfort in texting Junmyeon, Joohyun still found it a bit hard to sleep. She opted to playing some soft tunes on her phone instead. That usually did the trick. Seungwan mentioned a few times that when it was hard for her to sleep, she would watch videos on her phone until she eventually did or if she needed to sleep right away, she would play ballads.

With her phone still in her hand, Joohyun curled into her blankets and closed her heavy eyes, trying not to think about anything other than the music softly playing.

**

“Unnie, you’re up early. Do you have a schedule?”

Joohyun’s tired eyes lazily found a path to a bright and energetic Seungwan standing in the kitchen, mixing up a cup of coffee. Seungwan wasn’t usually this energetic in the morning, contrary to popular belief, but it wasn’t an odd sight either. The kitchen was really warm this morning, and Joohyun saw a few pans of cupcakes fluffing up in the oven. Ah, Seungwan was back to baking, and probably for Taeyeon since the latter was preparing to go on a concert tour.

Joohyun sighed and shook her head. She sat down at the dinner table. “No, I just couldn’t sleep that well.”

Seungwan grimaced while stirring her cup. “I tried talking to Seulgi last night to see what was up.”

“…What did she say?”

Seungwan shrugged. She pulled out a chair across from Joohyun and sat down. “She didn’t really say anything. Just same old Seulgi to me.”

“She’ll probably come around.”

Seulgi usually did. She probably had an off night.

That was what Joohyun wanted to believe in, but she knew Seulgi better. She only said it to switch discussion topics, not wanting Seungwan to linger on it any longer.

“Baking for Taeyeon-unnie?” Joohyun asked, effectively switching topics judging by the sight of how Seungwan’s eyes lit up.

Seungwan had a smile on her face and waved toward the oven where her vanilla and chocolate cupcakes were being baked at the moment.

“Mhmm! I think she’s practicing right now, so I’ll deliver this as soon as it’s done,” said Seungwan.

“Can I come with you?”

“Yeah, of course. Visiting Taeyeon-unnie, too?”

“Yeah, and I need to drop by somewhere really quick.”

Seungwan’s eyebrows rose. “Are you meeting up with…”

“…Yes,” Joohyun mumbled. “We just need to talk about a few things.”

“Relationship already on a rocky road, huh?” Seungwan joked.

Joohyun only rolled her eyes and stood up from the table. “No, silly. Our managers are going to be there, too. They already know about our relationship as well.”

Seungwan nodded a few times. “Right. Right. Need to talk about how to control the press and everything. Makes sense.”

“I’m going to go wash up,” Joohyun softly said.

As she turned towards the hallway to head to her room, Seungwan called out after her.

“Oh, unnie! Do you want me to make you anything to eat?” she offered graciously. “I think we still have some porridge left in here I can warm up for you.”

Seungwan was at the end of the hallway, hands perched against the wall with her head peeking out for Joohyun to see. She was looking at the leader with expectant eyes, but also just wanting to make sure that the elder was well. Seungwan was observant this way. They both knew that Joohyun was rarely the person to exude excitement in any way, but when it did happen, it was the typical situations that called for it—eating delicious food, receiving gifts dear to them, being in love with someone they truly loved. However, despite having announced her relationship with Junmyeon, which basically implied that Joohyun was in love with Junmyeon one way or another, Joohyun didn’t illustrate an ounce of excitement or glee. She probably didn’t want to have to tell her members the way that she did last night, but given the fact that they have been together for six months (according to Joohyun), their feelings should have settled in enough to the point where it was make it or break it.

Joohyun was way too overwhelmed right now. She hoped she would be able to figure out everything that was going on on top of their preparation for a concert tour overseas and a comeback right after they get back. During this time, she would confide into Seulgi. At least just being around her calming and comforting presence should be enough for her. But it was tough. Evidently.

“That’d be nice, Seungwan. Thanks.”

Seungwan gave her a thumbs up and sped off right away to the fridge, leaving Joohyun to lightly giggle at her unintentional frantic antics.

**

Red Velvet’s manager arrived at the company building with Seungwan and Joohyun in the van. The three of them steadily made their way to one of the dance practice rooms that Taeyeon and her concert crew were occupying.

Taeyeon, with how lax and easygoing she was, immediately called for a break to converse with Seungwan and Joohyun. She lit up at the sight of the cupcakes in Seungwan’s hands.

After exchanging a few words here and there, Joohyun and her manager bid farewell, leaving Taeyeon to keep Seungwan company, as they made their way to a different dance practice room far away down the hall.

Junmyeon and his manager were at the resting area, waiting for their arrival.

“Hey, Joohyun,” he greeted, patting down at the spot on the couch next to him.

She sat down next to him without a second thought.

“Your manager and I had a meeting with the President earlier this morning,” Junmyeon’s manager started, directing the conversation to Joohyun. “Dispatch asked for a _lot_ of money in return for them to not reveal your guys’ relationship. Unusually a lot.”

“We had kept some relationships hidden in the past before,” Joohyun’s manager said, “but with the public opening up to relationships more in a positive light, the President thought it’d be beneficial for you both to come out to the public. Dispatch is asking for a heck of a sum anyway.”

“Both of our groups would have to stay low for a while, won’t they?” Joohyun asked softly.

“That’s correct. You and Junmyeon-ssi will be in the eye of the public for a good amount of time, which would in turn gain some publicity for both EXO and Red Velvet. Right now, you two aren’t doing anything and it’s not looking so hot with other groups taking the limelight, so the President wanted to throw in your guys’ relationship to keep your groups in demand,” Junmyeon’s manager explained.

Junmyeon had a gentle smile on his face, carefully looking at Joohyun. He reached out to hold onto her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. It usually calmed Joohyun down.

“It’s going to be hard at first, but Jongin and Soojung-ssi were able to do this,” he said. “Baekhyunnie and Taeyeon-noona, too. We can as well.”

“…I just feel sorry to my members…”

Joohyun’s manager placed a hand on Joohyun’s shoulder, and he gently squeezed as a means of comfort. “They understand, don’t worry. You know how the media works. They’re super hungry for any juicy news, and you and Junmyeon-ssi are still very hot in the industry. The netizens are going to feed from this for sure. It’ll be great publicity…considering what we’re going to prepare for Junmyeon.”

Joohyun nodded in understanding. She couldn’t find the words to retaliate to any of this. And she couldn’t even if she wanted to. She was an idol, after all, and an idol was an important, beautiful asset of a company. As stated in the contract, she had to follow whatever the President ordered her to do, even if it meant risking the value of her name.

However, she trusted the President and the company. The couples who were revealed to the public still had their fame and glory even after a public breakup. They just became more desirable to their loyal fans, if anything.

She trusted that her relationship with Junmyeon wouldn’t tarnish any other relationships out there. After all, this was mainly going to be in Junmyeon’s favor. EXO had not been promoting for a year and more, and with some members enlisting into the army, it left the other members to relax more than they thought. But it was a perfect time to debut as a solo. Bring him out into the limelight with Joohyun and _bam_ , a solo project.

Though, Joohyun was exhausted every time she thought about it. Why did it have to be her?

“A few calls are being made,” Junmyeon told Joohyun with a gentle voice. He squeezed the hand that he was still holding. “We’re going to be made public very soon.”

An uneasy smile twitched upon Joohyun’s face. She was grateful for Junmyeon and the managers for trying to make her feel at ease about all of this, but knowing the intentions behind all of this and how it all started, it didn’t help decrease the anxiousness within her.

She just couldn’t help but feel extremely sorry to her members still.

**

Joohyun returned home late once again. After discussing what they needed to do after the public announcement, the managers had left Joohyun and Junmyeon alone in the room. From there on out, Junmyeon decided not to mention anything about their relationship, as he knew that it was placing unneeded tension on Joohyun. Instead, they talked about their trainee days, reminiscing the times of where it was slightly easier, where they weren’t always aware of cameras all the time. They talked about their good friends at the time—Amber, Sunyoung, Victoria, Jinri, Soojung, Jongin, Seulgi, Seungyeon, Minho, Yerim, Taemin, and so many others who stuck with them or had left.

They just dreamt of dancing and singing on stage while receiving love from their fans. That was all they really wanted.

Joohyun heaved a sigh to herself, punching in the code in the keypad. Once she was in, she freely took off the face mask and cap, trudging her way down to her bedroom. The members were probably asleep by now or just in their rooms. Sooyoung had been receiving a lot of love calls for her explosive personality to be on variety shows, so she was probably dead tired after hours and hours of shooting an episode. Yerim was getting more serious about her music production. When they weren’t preparing for their comebacks or anything of that sort, Yerim practiced writing lyrics and composing music with Seungwan. They both truly want their own artistic ability to be placed into their future albums. Seulgi, on the other hand, was going out a lot more frequently. And most of the times by herself. She was always like that—a free-spirited roamer who window shopped, sang karaoke alone, and met up with other friends. Joohyun always admired that side of her so much so that she tried to be like her a few times but resulted into staying as a homebody.

Once she walked past the dark, empty living room and kitchen, she had her hand on the doorknob to her bedroom. Her gaze was settled on a particular door. She hadn’t seen Seulgi all day, and they hadn’t spoken to each other all day either on their group chat. It was only the occasional messages from Sooyoung letting them know what she was doing at the time during the shoot. Only Seungwan and Yerim responded right away.

Joohyun was fighting a dilemma—to walk into Seulgi’s room and see if she was awake so they could talk, or let this fire continue to burn and leave her alone?

When there was nothing to do, they usually spent their nights together, staying up talking about things they weren’t able to talk about because they were so busy and tired. Seulgi always told her _everything_. It didn’t matter what it was, Seulgi always talked to her, even if it was about spotting a trinket on a random day that reminded her of Joohyun.

Right now seemed to call for a time where they would do such a thing. But Joohyun would always come home late and Seulgi didn’t bother to stay up and wait for her.

Joohyun heaved another sigh.

She decided tonight would be best for her to tear her gaze away from the door. She walked into her own bedroom and left the fire still fueling.


	3. Chapter 3

  1. _[+1,201, -99] Ah, of course it would be Irene and Suho, the two most beautiful leaders in the world!! Kekeke, wishing the best of luck to those two…_
  2. _[+3,405, -1,204] My heart aches…huhuhu… I can’t believe Irene-noona is taken…_
  3. _[+565, -2,607] Aish, they really have nothing better to do, huh? Can’t they just keep it in their pants…_
  4. _[+2,632, -635] They say that the longer couples date, the more they look like each other!! No wonder why these two look so alike!!_
  5. _[+1,624, -504] Another EXO member caught dating…ahh…my heart hurts…_
  6. _[+687, -1,023] I hope that b*tch keeps her filthy hands off my Suho-oppa… I can’t believe they’re dating…_



With a heavy sigh, Joohyun shut her phone screen off and pinched the bridge of her nose. Not even ten minutes passed by since this article was released and a bunch of keyboard warriors were at it with the comments already. The amount of comment reputation each one was getting was beyond ridiculous to Joohyun. Just how many of their fans were lurking around, reading the comments, hoping that the article was fake? But with Dispatch being a somewhat credible source, especially with the photos attached, the news was hard to debunk.

It was going to be difficult to convince others that the individuals pictured in the photo were not Joohyun and Junmyeon. She remembered the night those photos were taken. Even though Junmyeon was wearing a tight fitted cap and sunglasses, the lower half of his face was still distinguishable. Joohyun didn’t even have to be his good friend to recognize his face. In the picture, he was holding onto the passenger door waiting for Joohyun, who was only wearing a cap and feebly covering her face with a hand, to climb out of his car. They were heading to a café during this night just to chat and hang out.

Joohyun sighed once more. Even if she wasn’t reported to be dating Junmyeon, there were obviously going to be speculations of whether or not she was. In this world, she couldn’t get by without having someone asking her if she was dating so and so or if she _had_ dated so and so all because they were just hanging out as two good friends, grabbing a bite to eat.

_12:23 A.M._

_It’s out._

_I know, I read it and saw the comments. Aish, right at midnight too._

_They scheduled this article for sure._

_I can’t believe they have those photos of us. That was so long ago, maybe even two years ago._

_I know… We were just hanging out at that time after your promotions for Russian Roulette._

_How are you holding up?_

_You okay?_

_Yeah… I mean… I can’t deny some of the comments bother me, but there are always going to be people like that._

_Ah, thankfully you have that mindset. Really good._

_What about you? You doing okay?_

_Yeah. I don’t even know these people, so why should I care what they think about me?_

_Haha, that’s true._

_I think this is where we should lay low for a bit before making an appearance. Even if we’re out there to the public, there’s no denying the fact that we have those crazy sasaengs trying to do stuff to us…_

_Ah, God, you’re right… I’m a homebody anyway, so it’s not like I was going to go out haha_

_Lucky for you haha I’m stuck with 8 other children who always want to go out_

_You’re a man. You can protect yourself_

_Ah, right. You’re such a scaredy cat who jumps at the smallest of noise haha_

_Yah_

_Yah_

_…_

_Haha I’ll leave you be for now. I think my manager wants to meet up with me and the guys. We’re preparing a comeback soon_

_Ah, right. Good luck~ Don’t break a leg_

_See you later Hyun_

_Bye Myeon_

**

It had been a week since the public announcement of Joohyun’s and Junmyeon’s relationship and the media and everyone else around them were still rowdy. Junmyeon was busy with his solo project preparations now, considering how he was expected to drop an album teaser within the next week or so. Joohyun had received messages from her idol friends and her childhood friends who were not the members of Red Velvet. They were bombarding her with messages asking her, “Since when!?” or “I never pegged you for the type to go after a man like Suho!” or “Yah, you two look good together… It only makes sense…”

Red Velvet had their own individual schedules for the time being. On SM’s master list, they were scheduled to make a comeback by the end of the year, which was not until a good few months later. But it meant that they were going to start preparations really soon after Junmyeon was finished with his solo promotional period.

For now, Sooyoung and Seungwan were called together to film for Pajama Party, Yerim was being a social butterfly and hanging out a lot more with other idols, and Seulgi was recording a song for a collaboration that an artist wanted to do with her. She had been receiving a lot of attention for her charismatic charm on stage and also how she was so nice and kind off stage, which Joohyun couldn’t deny. That left Joohyun to film commercials again for Nuovo Hazzy’s _,_ and Columbiana for now.

Joohyun returned back to the dorm after half of day of filming for Hazzy’s. When she punched in the code, she didn’t hear a lot of chatter inside.

“Anyone home?” she called out.

She fished out her phone from her pocket to scroll through her messages.

Hm. Nothing.

She then decided to check her Find My Friends application since all of the members had iPhones and tracked each other just in case anything was to happen to them. Sooyoung and Seungwan were together at a different province, probably filming something for Pajama Party again. Yerim was at a café not that far away, but she was probably hanging out with a friend as per usual. And Seulgi’s icon was on top of hers. She was home.

Joohyun didn’t know why she felt so nervous when she realized she was home alone with Seulgi. Granted that Seulgi was holed up in her room far away from hers with her record turntable and drawing materials, it was still a very high chance that she was going to come out and potentially spot her.

She was no stranger to the tension between them. _Nobody_ else was. Seungwan, Sooyoung, and Yerim could all sense it, and even if they didn’t say it, it was obvious by the way they tiptoed around them. On camera they acted like they usually did. They illustrated their affectionate personalities and playfulness like how the public saw them to be. But when they were off camera, the uncomfortable silence immediately took over the air and they walked around each other in circles like they were on eggshells.

Joohyun knew Seulgi was the type of person to bottle up her feelings since she first met her. She didn’t like talking about what was on her mind a lot because she didn’t like to hinder the other person nor make them feel uncomfortable. If there were options between hurting her own feelings or the other person’s feelings, she was always going to choose the former, demonstrating exactly how selfless and kind she was. It wasn’t until three years into their idol activity did Seulgi start to open up more. The five-minute candle talks helped a lot at the beginning, but since they stopped doing that long ago, the members talked to one another late into the night. Seulgi and Seungwan had each other, and Sooyoung and Yerim. There was a time period where Seungwan had been falling asleep earlier than usual, probably because of how effortlessly tired she got during that time, so Seulgi confided into Joohyun whenever there were some things troubling her mind.

Joohyun expected Seulgi to knock on her bedroom door these past few nights to talk. The latter usually did, and they would spill almost everything to each other, though, it was usually just Seulgi doing most of the talking. But Seulgi never did. Only passed by her in the mornings with a tight-lipped smile and standing next to her so tensely whenever they did their usual standing order.

Relieving a sigh, the leader fought an internal battle and didn’t know if she should talk to Seulgi now while it was just the two of them or to wait until the other talked to her first. There were times where Seulgi would straight up lie to Joohyun’s face, saying that she was fine when she obviously wasn’t.

With one last look lingering on Seulgi’s bedroom door, listening to a faint record that just turned on, Joohyun finally decided. She placed all her things onto the stand next to the couch and walked up to Seulgi’s room, rapping her knuckles gently against the door.

“Yeah?” Seulgi called out from behind the door.

Joohyun listened to the pattering footsteps and the creaking of the door, a melodic humming accompanying the record that grew louder the more the door widened. Seulgi stood there with her hand still on the doorknob.

“Oh, unnie,” she softly said, acknowledging the other’s presence.

Joohyun waited for something more, waited for Seulgi to move to the side and invite her in. But she continued to stand there, body blocking most of the view of the background, arm still outstretched, not very welcoming.

“Can we talk…?” Joohyun finally asked.

Seulgi looked back over her shoulder after the request. Joohyun saw how she was still staring, like there was something there waiting for her to come back with her undivided attention. She turned back and nodded, but proceeded to step out, prompting Joohyun to move back into the living room.

“What did you want to talk about?” Seulgi asked, closing her door shut.

She went ahead and paced to the couches in the living room, sitting down at the far end of the three-seater. Joohyun took the opposite end.

“About…about us.”

If Seulgi felt anything, she didn’t really show it. She only placed her elbow on the armrest, playing around with her hair as she raised a brow at Joohyun.

“What about us?”

Joohyun sighed. “I can’t be the only one who thinks that we’ve been very awkward around each other, Seulgi.”

Seulgi stopped playing around with her hair, gaze sternly fixed on Joohyun’s face.

“You know it, I know it. The other members know it.”

“I haven’t been awkward around you.”

“Yes, you have! You barely talk to me now and you obviously joke around with the other girls more than you do with me.”

“I’ve just been tired, unnie…”

“Aren’t we all?”

Seulgi sighed. “Listen, I don’t think there’s anything wrong between us.”

“You need to stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop lying to yourself,” Joohyun said. “Stop bottling everything up.”

Seulgi didn’t retort immediately. She only looked away from Joohyun, hand now placed in front of her chin as if she was pondering.

“Do you…do you not like the idea of me and Junmyeon dating?”

It didn’t elicit an immediate reaction. Joohyun sat there silently, staring at Seulgi, waiting for her to open her mouth and say something, anything. But Seulgi was immobile for another second longer until she stood up.

“I don’t care who you date,” she said, briskly pacing her way back to her bedroom.

Joohyun shot up from the couch and grasped onto Seulgi’s wrist, pulling her back. Seulgi turned to her with narrowed eyes.

“Seulgi…”

“I honestly don’t care, unnie. I said ‘congratulations,’ didn’t I? You and Junmyeon-oppa make a good couple,” Seulgi replied. “It’s good. You’re dating and you may end up getting married to him. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

Joohyun widened her eyes. “Married? We’re just dating. I’m not even thinking about marriage, Kang Seulgi.”

Seulgi heaved a sigh and turned away, almost rolling her eyes. “Is this what you want to talk about? About you thinking I’m angry at you because you’re dating Junmyeon-oppa? Do you need my blessing or something? Your relationship is already public, you’re already dating.”

“That’s not it, Seulgi,” Joohyun said through gritted teeth. “Can’t you properly listen to me?”

“Then, what is it!?”

“I want to talk about _us_! Not me and Junmyeon!”

Joohyun saw how Seulgi looked at her, gazing into her eyes so intently as if she was searching for something else other than the words she was hearing. Her still narrowed eyes were so fixed, so concentrated. Joohyun couldn’t help but gulp underneath her stare as she waited.

Seulgi took a step forward. Joohyun didn’t realize it, but she was still holding onto Seulgi’s wrist. As her grip loosened, she lowered her gaze a bit, feeling defenseless and small even if Seulgi was just a couple inches taller. Her strong gaze and her presence affected her more than she would like to admit. She usually calmed her. But now, she felt threatened.

“Alright,” Seulgi started with a low tone. She had a slight smirk on her face. “Fine, I’ll admit it. I don’t like how you’re dating someone. I don’t like how you’re dating when we haven’t even reached the peak of our career yet. I don’t like how you’re dating when you haven’t told the other members, told _me_ , that you started to like someone after so many _countless_ rejections of other guys. I don’t like how you’re dating when you don’t even know how I—”

Seulgi slightly panted. Her eyes wavered as if she was saying something she wasn’t supposed to have said. However, those charming orbs hardened once more, and she clenched her jaw.

“I just don’t like it,” she firmly said. “Happy?”

If Seulgi lingered just a bit longer, Joohyun would have had enough time to recollect her thoughts. Though, because Seulgi didn’t have anything to say anymore and also because Joohyun’s grip was terribly loose, Seulgi walked away, treading back to her bedroom. Joohyun stood in the living room silently, alone, watching her groupmate disappear beyond her privacy.


	4. Chapter 4

Red Velvet was a group of sisters to Bae Joohyun. She had a little sister she took care of very well since she entered as a trainee—Kim Yerim. She had another little sister, albeit she was mischievous and worked well with Yerim more than she could ever—Park Sooyoung. There was the middle sister, always so wise, mature, and knowing when to act well (sometimes)—Son Seungwan. And then there was the one closest to her, the one she grew up with first, the one who always stuck by her side through all the scolding—Kang Seulgi.

But there was a time where she no longer thought of one of them as a sister.

Joohyun didn’t know when that line had been crossed.

When she started to see Seulgi in a different light.

She remembered seeing Seulgi as the dorky trainee who was so amazing at singing and dancing. The one she would go to when there were thunderstorms. The one who confided into Joohyun when she was scared because she thought she had lost her voice forever. They only had each other back then when the rest of their friends left them behind, pursuing other dreams after realizing that one of them was taking longer than they thought. Thus, it was natural for the two of them to grow closer on many levels.

But not knowing when these unusually intimate feelings began might have been because she first saw Seulgi when she was a young teenager, someone who was still awkward around people and looked lost most of the times. Because of that, her observations on Seulgi were gradual. She never saw the point where Seulgi transitioned from an awkward, lanky teenaged girl to a confident, beautiful young woman.

Joohyun knew that siblings wouldn’t find each other physically attractive. Well, maybe they did, but they were just observations. Joohyun, on the other hand, lingered on that observation. Her wandering eyes couldn’t help but gaze all over Seulgi and how she presented herself. The alluring eyes, the shape of her mouth, what she looked like when she smiled so beautifully, the faces she made when she was at her best—dancing. And above all, Seulgi was so kind and warm-hearted and someone Joohyun loved to tease so much because it was fun to and it was easy.

Joohyun couldn’t see Seulgi as a sister anymore.

It would have been wrong to.

She didn’t act upon it, obviously. She suppressed it as hard as she could, trying so hard to keep it in the dark depths of her mind. It was something that should never see the light, she thought.

It was wrong. It was wrong. It was wrong.

Which was why she accepted the deal by the Executive Board of SM.

Joohyun’s romantic relationship with Junmyeon was far from reality. It was just another stunt of SM’s, pegging the two together to form a relationship to be released in the public to hype up Junmyeon’s upcoming solo project. They knew Dispatch was lingering around the corner, they knew the netizens would go wild to know who was dating who. It was effortless to pair the two, granted that Joohyun had a pool of male suitors and she was often seen next to Junmyeon. It was easier to deal with relationships within the company, and since SM dominated their contracts, Joohyun couldn’t deny the offer.

Junmyeon was a good friend anyway. It wasn’t that difficult to be close to him, and they had already hung out together before as friends.

The thing was, however, was that Joohyun and Junmyeon had to make it as real as possible. That evidently involved their members, to make them believe that they were dating each other, to minimize the possibility of others becoming suspicious and forming thoughts in their heads about the fabrication of their relationship.

And, well…Joohyun was not going to deny the idea that maybe having a fake relationship with Junmyeon would eventually end up with her liking him in the end. If they were forced to act intimate towards each other for the public to believe in then even more, then maybe these fluttering butterflies would form in her stomach. Like how they said it would in those movies and Korean dramas she would watch with Yerim whenever there was a chance to. Junmyeon was also a handsome, charming gentleman who knew how to treat her right, so it wouldn’t be that bad to actually date him, right?

Right?

**

“Girls, your comeback preparations for the third quarter are going to start next week. Do whatever you can now before we all start getting really busy.”

There were a series of sighs and loud groans sounded throughout the van. Red Velvet had just finished their own separate schedules and had a late-night dinner at a barbecue restaurant together. Sooyoung and Seulgi had stuffed themselves too much, as per usual, with the latter dozing off every now and then during the car ride. Sooyoung was the culprit of the loud groan, though. She didn’t look forward to having her stamina deplete again, and she was just starting to have a lot of fun with the Pajama Party cast.

Seungwan looked out the window as they passed by numerous of street shops and cars along the way.

“Oppa, when do you think we can start contributing to the production of our albums?” she asked.

Yerim’s eyes lit up. Producing their own album? That would be a dream come true for not only her but Seungwan as well. If it was any indication by the keyboard and guitar set up in their rooms, they were both highly interested in making their own music one day. Yerim already had experience within that field, but it wasn’t for all of Red Velvet, the girls she grew up with.

“Hmm, who knows?” he replied. “It took a while for your seniors to make their own music, too.”

“Do you think if we keep on pushing the idea to them, they will consider it for the next album?” Yerim asked hopefully.

“Maybe,” the manager curtly said. He really didn’t know when they could start making contributions to albums. “I don’t think it’ll hurt to try. I mean, Yeri, you already helped an artist write lyrics to a song.”

Joohyun gently smiled at the thought. Having an album where _all_ of their names would be credited at the end? That would be very nice. Just thinking about how each of them would have their own solo track to represent their own music style made Joohyun sigh in delight as well. It would absolutely be a dream come true for that to happen. She was starting to think what kind of tracks each of their members would make. She thought she would make a track similar to _Candy_ since that was her all-time favorite song they ever had the pleasure of singing. Yerim would probably do a mellow song that showcased her lyrics more than anything. Sooyoung would do a song that was a bit upbeat and happy-go-lucky to demonstrate her colorful, pretty voice. Seungwan would definitely do a R&B song; the genre fit her strong, soulful voice. And lastly Seulgi might do a chill dance track that had some parts where she would be able to illustrate powerful dancing but at the same time the chill parts would display the range of her beautiful voice.

“We’ll make it happen!” Seungwan exclaimed while pumping her fist in the air. “We can do it for sure. We just need to practice more, Yerimmie!”

Seungwan and Yerim began to animatedly talk about what kinds of sounds they would like to have in an album that would be produced by all of them. The concepts. The backing vocals. What sounds they thought their fans would like. Then, the conversation turned into a teasing matter, more so on Yerim’s part. Sooyoung chimed in at this time and Seulgi was fast asleep. Joohyun silently smiled to herself in the passenger seat, staring off to the side while listening to the playful bickering in the background.

This was so like them, and she wished for it to stay like this forever.

Wished that she wasn’t a commodity to the public and had to succumb to their desires.

That she would stop getting unnecessary hate for every little, normal action she did.


End file.
